Butaprost

Butaprost is a selective prostaglandin E receptor (EP2) agonist with an EC₅₀ of 33 nM and a K_i of 2.4 μM for murine EP2 receptor. Butaprost is less activity against murine EP1, EP3 and EP4 receptors. Butaprost attenuates fibrosis by hampering TGF-β/Smad2 signalling^[1][2][3]. In Vitro: Butaprost (1-100 nM; 0.5-24 hours) induces about a five-fold upregulation of Nur77 mRNA expression in hEP2-HEK293/EBNA cells in a dose- and time-dependent. Butaprost upregulated Nur77 gene expression through the PKC pathway^[1].
Butaprost (50 μM; 24 hours) reduces TGF-β-induced fibronectin (FN) expression, Smad2 phosphorylation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells^[2]. In Vivo: Butaprost (1-4 mg/kg; intraperitoneal injection; twice daily; for 7 days) treatment attenuates the development of fibrosis in mice that underwent unilateral ureteral obstruction surgery, as illustrated by a reduction in the gene and protein expression of α-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin and collagen 1A1^[2].